Harry and Hermione: The Hardest Things To Face
by midnightspark123
Summary: When Harry decides to take a chance and go and battle Voldemort, Hermione is devastated. Her sadness is extinguished by a dainty symbol of hope that Harry will come back. What exactly will she do in the name of love?


Disclaimer: I do not own anything having to do with Harry Potter!

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Harry and Hermione: The Hardest Things To Face 

Chapter 1: Goodbyes Don't Always Have To Be Painful

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"This is so beautiful, I can't believe I'm here… after everything that's happened." Hermione closed her eyes for a moment and opened them again, revealing the most remarkable sunset she had ever seen. She ran her hands through the grass and the dew got them wet. Her mind reeled back, towards the memory of the morning he had to go away:

"Harry! Why didn't you come and wake me up to say goodbye?" Hermione gasped, out of breath from running, she looked down and screamed; she was still in her silk pajamas. She whipped Ron's robe off of him and wrapped it around herself. Tears started forming on the edges of her eyes. Her cheeks grew red from the cold. "Why Harry? Why are you leaving like this? Voldemort is weak for now!" Ron flinched at the sound of his name, "I thought you were going to take a break…I don't want anything to happen to you!" Hermione sank to her knees, her hands wrapped around her shoulders.

"Hermione…. this is exactly why I have to leave, with Voldemort weak I can get this battle over with and come back sooner." Harry dropped his bags on the ground and gathered Hermione in his arms, "I promise you, right here and right now, I will not let anything happen to me. I didn't want to see you crying, that's why I didn't wake you. I thought it would be easier to leave Hogwarts that way, but I guess it was just the same." Harry grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and looked at her, brushing a stray hair from her face. Hermione's tears stopped once she saw Harry's emerald eyes looking at her. They always made her nervous, but this time, she felt she would melt.

"Alright Harry, but before you go, I want to tell you something…" Hermione paused and felt the words start to slip out, "Harry I love…" She lifted her head and saw Harry's eyebrows scrunch together in a concerned manner. She quickly decided to stop herself. "I mean, Harry I would love it if you would write to me everyday. So I know you're alright."

Harry's expression saddened, but it was quickly wiped away, as if by a magic hand. "Don't worry Hermione I will. Goodbye now, Fred is waiting for me at the end of the garden with the car. He'll drive me halfway to Diagon Alley."

"Fred? I didn't know he was allowed to drive dad's new car." Ron asked, following Harry down towards the place he pointed out.

"Well actually your dad has no idea he has it…" The conversation became a blur and Hermione could no longer hear anything, she could only see the two boys give each other one last friendly hug and Harry threw his stuff in the backseat and slammed the car door shut. Forever? Hermione did not want to think of it, and only stared at the ground. Hugging her knees close to her chest and watching Harry drive past was perhaps the hardest thing she thought she would ever have to do. Ron walked past her and started to reach over to help Hermione up, but when he saw no reaction, Ron hesitated, and finally headed back towards Hogwarts, leaving her to think alone.

'**Why didn't I say it? He was right there, what if he never comes back?**' Hermione thought, burying her head deeper and deeper into her sorrows. She cried, and cried, and cried, until she was sure her eyes were bloodshot but she did not care. After a few minutes, or what seemed like hours, she finally gathered enough courage to lift her head a bit and see the world without Harry, without their exciting adventures, his beautiful green eyes, his marvelous smile that made her go 20 shades of red. Instead of seeing pain though, she saw hope in the form of a navy blue handkerchief, lying on the ground, waiting to be picked up and stuffed into a pocket for later use. Hermione carefully lifted the silky material and, instead of putting it into her pocket, scanned it for some sign of ownership. Her hand stopped when she reached a part where a letter was elegantly stitched onto the handkerchief. An H stared right back at her, as if waiting for her reaction. '**This is Harry's!**' she thought, '**It must've dropped when he put his bags on the ground!**' Hermione went wild, this goodbye didn't seem as painful as before, and it wasn't even a goodbye! It was a "see you later." Hermione took this as a symbol of hope that Harry would come back unscathed. She brought the material to her heart and thanked whatever forces there were to give her this reminder of Harry, this dainty thing that still held his scent. Now she didn't have to say goodbye.

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Hello! Thanks for reading my story! If you want it to continue though, you _HAVE_ to send reviews! I really want to continue, but not if no one likes it! Thanks and send those reviews!

midnightspark123


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